Movie Etiquette Rant

[Karried]

I know we've talked about this before.. but why can't people stop being so ridiculously rude throughout every movie?

I'd love to be able to say this just once:

Hey you! Yes, You!

Turn off the PHONE! All the Way OFF! Yes, we can all see you Texting during the movie.. you know the little bright light that enables you to see what you're writing? Guess what!? We can see it too! Especially in a Dark Theater Einstein. Are you really that important and can't wait 1.5 hours to receive or return a call or a text?

No, you are not, trust me.

You do NOT have to dig through your popcorn bag and slurp the last residue of liquid through your straw during each and every quiet, suspenseful scene of the movie. Just because you can't hear yourself chomp and rustle, doesn't mean that we all can't. We CAN! Have some manners and hold out for two seconds until an action scene or loud music comes on and then dig away.

Please teach your youngsters to be quiet! They shouldn't even be in a theater if they can't control their whining, crying and incessant talking. Wait for the DVD, they'll be happier, you'll be happier and for God's Sake, I'll be ecstatic.


Believe it or not, I can't focus on the movie between your outbursts and explanations of the script/dialogue/plot to your date. Fill them in afterwards. Better yet, stay home and get the book.

I'm sick and tired of paying close to $50 bucks to have every movie we watch ruined by rude, clueless, idiotic neanderthals that can't figure out that it's not all about them all the time and that their precious conversations can wait until after the movie.

There, I've ranted and feel better now. Better here than venting to the actual movie destroyer because if that happens one of you might have to come and bail me out. Btw, does pouring popcorn on someone's head count as assault? lol

[Richard at Remax]

You beat me to doing a post like this.

I went and saw Wanted (which I thought was surprisingly good) at AMC Quail Springs at 10pm on friday night.

It amazes me sometimes how people can completely lack common courtesy. Numerous annoyances and rudeness were all over the theater.

1) A couple brought there infant child to the movie. Really? And it made noises and cried throughout half of the movie until they finally left.

2) People were texting all in front of us. Which IS a distraction.

3) People getting up to go talk on the phone in the walkways that lead into the theater. WE CAN STILL HEAR YOU.

4) These women behind me had to talk about every scene or action moment right after they happened. I heard countless "oh my god. did you see that? what did he just say?" ect ect.

5) What is it about when everything goes quiet or dark that it seems like everyone starts crumbling up wrappers and foil paper.

6) Finally, two guys behind us two seats over put thier feet up on the seats in front of them where no one was sitting. What they didnt realize what that the shaking led to all the seats shaking.

We all paid the same price to watch a movie. You didnt pay extra to be rude and be dumbasses. This isn't your living room. Be respectfull of others around you. I think they should have an usher in each auditorium to make sure things run smoothly or if someone has a complaint.

sorry for the rant.

[AFCM]

In addition to everything you mentioned already, I get annoyed by the teeny-bopper crowd who infest the theaters looking for a place to makeout. Of course, they all fit in with the description of never-ending text messaging maniacs you despise. I just get annoyed with the loud giggling and "OMG, he didn't" everytime these kids did something they thought was cool or perverted.

I remember being that age once and trying to cop-a-feel, but the last thing I wanted was attention. I would operate smoothly and quietly; it's the only way we could get away with it in those days. We'd be kicked out if we behaved like the kids do now.

As for the folks who feel the need to explain the plot, I think they're just trying to impress their friends with how smart they are and how easily they can piece together the murder mystery...only to find out the murderer was really a guy dressed in drag and they were all WRONG afterall!

[OKCisOK4me]

Yeah, post your rant on a board that I can assure you not every teen in the OKC area will be reading. I can agree with you that some of that stuff can be controlled & I like the fact at Warren Theatre they tell you to turn off your phone and no texting or you will be escorted out. Also, I hate crunching ice from my drink when it's not a loud scene. If everyone else would just think like me then we wouldn't have these problems. Last but not least, if you want an experience for less than $50 to be good, then screw the movie theatre. Get a nice theatre system yourself, with a Blu Ray player and 7.1 surround and you're good to go, at home. Yell at your own kids. Viola!

[Lauri101]

All of these complaints make up the reason why the SO and I haven't been to a movie theater in over 7 years.

Nothing is so important that it can't wait until the DVD/pay per view comes out!

[FritterGirl]

Ah, Karrie! This thread is LOOONG overdue.

And yes, texting is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. We went to see Indy 4 this weekend (finally), and I could see someone texting who was sitting about 10 rows (or more) in front of us. The angle was just so that the little blue-white light was right in my eye line. I can only imagine what it was like for people closer.

Seriously, people (and by people, I mean you teenagers and young 20-somethings everywhere), no one, and I mean NO ONE is THAT important. Unless you have the letters D and R in front of your name, and/or have a JOB that requires you to be chained to your electronic leash AT ALL TIMES, then you can TURN IT OFF. It won't kill you, I promise.

As for the popcorn bag crunching - yes, people, it is entirely possible to actually put your hand in the bag of popcorn withOUT crunching the paper bag around it. It takes a bit of skill, I'll admit, but with a little effort, it just isn't that hard.

And Karrie, you left off one of my favorites - chair kicking, especially for kids. I was all but accosted by some kid's mom one day after a movie because I had the audacity to ask her child to please NOT kick my chair. She got right in my face after the movie and told me I didn't have the right to correct her child, that I was not his mother. I told her that he was kicking me, and she said, "but he's just a kid." Unbelievable.

[OKCDrummer77]

I wonder how expensive lead is. If they could build lead-lined movie theaters so cell phones wouldn't work at all, that would solve most of the problems.

That, or legalize hand-held cell phone jammers so we could take matters into our own hands.

[FritterGirl]

In NYC, there are some Broadway theaters that have installed signal jammers. I've even noticed the texting phenomenon has made its way to shows at the Civic Center Music Hall. Sad.

[slademan]

Hi all, been lurking here awhile. I thought it was time to go ahead and start posting lol! I can understand all of your complaints. It does get annoying, although things will only get worse. I am young so it does not bother me much, but you all do have a point. As far as texting during the movie, I am guilty of it. It is not that I think I am "important", its more of a thing where I cannot stand to be without it. I am sure pretty much all of the people around my age (15-25) feel the same way. I am 20 so I pretty much grew up with a cell phone (along with everyone else in my age group) and they are just part our daily life. Its no excuse, I am just telling you my experience with it. Anyway I enjoy reading the posts and hope to join in more often!

slademan

[MadMonk]

Okay, so you know it's a problem for many people, and you know it's annoying and rude, so why not try to work on that and set an example for your peers? Just a suggestion.

[slademan]

I appreciate your suggestion, but I stated that I had been guilty of it. That does not mean I constantly text in every movie I go and see. IMO texting in a movie is no worse than the old people asking each other what the actor just said because their hearing is bad. There are always going to be disruptions in our life, and the movie theatre is not exempt from that.

[Karried]

IMO texting in a movie is no worse than the old people asking each other what the actor just said because their hearing is bad.

IMO, it's much worse.

You're making a conscious decision to disrupt other people's movie experiences for an unnecessary conversation that could easliy wait until the movie is over.

I've never been distracted once by a senior citizen who was asking what the actors said but I have been repeatedly disturbed by ringing phones, inconsiderate people holding phone conversations during the movie and bright screens and texting.... how about trying to turn off your phone during a movie and basically practice some respect for other people?

Bad behavior isn't excused by youth.

But, I'm sure you know all of this already.

[dismayed]

All reasons why I built up a home theater!

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Blood...Pressure....Rising....Must...Not....KILL EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM WITH MY SHOE.

That's how I used to be.

Now I pay the $36 ticket price at Warren with a smile the size of Delaware...Knowing that a) there will be NO kids. None. They're not allowed with an escort, they're not allowed period II) Nobody will kick my chair and 3) They will kick people out for touching their cell phones. This isn't just kids. My girlfriend used to do it. She was peeved when I took it away from her on the 5th text msg in as many minutes and stuck it in my pocket...But she's not done it since and now gets upset at others for it. (WOOHOO! One convert!).


Karried, I know that your kids can't get into the balcony (and it's a LONG drive...But who cares, gas is cheap right?), but you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't check out Warren. It's all that and a bag of chips.

[SoonerDave]

You know...a lot of this idiot cell phone problem would be solved if you didn't have parents buying cellphones for 13-year-olds....

..then again, we have parents who don't see any problem with their precious angel kicking someone else in the back every 10 minutes in the theater...

sd

[kmf563]

I see all sides of this argument.

1. Karried - I agree with all of the annoying disturbances.
2. OGTS - I would pay just to go to the Warren also if I were going to go.
3. Slademan - You are absolutely right - it is a cultural difference and it is not annoying for those who are in your age bracket.

It's like the radio being too loud or those damn kids on the lawn! My son and I have had this conversation because it annoys his generation when we complain about the cell phones just as much as those phones annoy us.

I am not a movie fan for numerous reasons - you can't pause to pee, you can't eat steak while watching, you can't lay in your underwear with a blanket and pillow, etc. The noise bothers me - but it is part of the movie. Kids actually consider movies to be interactive - noise is just a part of the movie experience.
All of the above is just simply why I do not go. Not to even mention how overpriced it is to go.

And FYI - 12 and 13 year old kids have cell phones because they are home alone since parents work these days and there are too many horror stories of kidnappings and crazy bus drivers! My son has one, and I'm glad he does. He's had to call me numerous times.

[ddavidson8]

Dude, wait what?

They don't allow kids at the Warren theater? How can they make any money?

[bandnerd]

The other day we went to a matinee of Wall-E and there were some kids there that I think were unsupervised. We were sitting at the very top (this was before the movie started) and some kids, probably between 8 and 10, I think, were standing a few rows down. I just kind of said, softly, something to my husband about their heads being in the way of the screen.

The boy looked up and said, "Hey, guys, we're in their view of the screen," and they ran downstairs for something. They weren't a bother after that :P

I've had all the above complaints before--people talking, making out, yelling things, cell phones, texting...blah blah blah. Yeah, it's an annoyance but people in general are annoying, so I tend to get over it pretty quickly.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Dude, wait what?

They don't allow kids at the Warren theater? How can they make any money?

They don't allow them in the balcony seats (booze is served up there). The rest of the theater is fine.

[traxx]

First of all, some of you are saying that a home theater with 7.1 surround (which there are very few discs mixed in 7.1 so for the most part the two extra speakers are just repeating information from your other speakers, but that's another topic) is just as good as going to the movies. For some that may be true but I like the shared experience of going to the movie and as much as I like my home theater it'll never be the same. My kids don't get the same experience out of the original Star Wars trilogy as I did experiencing it in a movie theater as a shared experience with the rest of the audience. I still remember seeing the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie on the big screen when I was a kid and sharing in the oohs and aahs with the audience. To me it just can't be replaced.

Second, I agree with most of what has been said. Patron behavior at the movies has gotten horrible. I hate the ubiquitous cell phones and texting. And I can't believe some of the movies that parents bring their kids too. Stop being cheap and get a baby sitter, that's what me and my wife do. But as far as kids in a movie go, if you go to a movie like Wall*E you can't really complain about the kids, you just have to expect that they're going to talk and ask questions etc. Unless some parent is using the movie as a baby sitter while they go shop and leave the kids unattended. There's no excuse for that.

[theilluminatedfirefly]

I'll confess, I'm one of those people who is increasingly finding the cost of a movie not worth the experience nowdays. (Especially when you have to hike half a mile through Quail Springs Mall to get to the theater.)

With movies coming out so quickly on DVD, I'd rather wait and enjoy it in my home. My only exceptions are movies I really want to see and don't want them spoiled, which are is probably less than three movies a year.

[Ginkasa]

I find most complaints here seem to be about teenagers/kids, but when I go the movies I have problems wit adults at least as much as teens. Its even worse when its adults; you can almost kind of excuse teenagers, but grown adults should know better. Most of the time when I tell a kid to be quiet in a theatre they look kind of embarrassed. Adults always have this "How dare you try to tell me how to behave" attitude.

[OKCMallen]

IMO, it's much worse.

You're making a conscious decision to disrupt other people's movie experiences for an unnecessary conversation that could easliy wait until the movie is over.

I've never been distracted once by a senior citizen who was asking what the actors said but I have been repeatedly disturbed by ringing phones, inconsiderate people holding phone conversations during the movie and bright screens and texting.... how about trying to turn off your phone during a movie and basically practice some respect for other people?

Bad behavior isn't excused by youth.

But, I'm sure you know all of this already.

No excuse for your phone making noise, but silent texcting doesn't bother me and I do it sometimes.

[LIL_WAYNE_4_PREZIDENT08]

If some one texting has totally ruined your movie experiance.... You probably weren't going to have a good time anyway...

[FritterGirl]

There's a reason theatres are dark...so we can better see the action on screen.

When in the midst of a dramatic or touching moment, my eyes are usually riveted at the screen, as the director intended it to be so. When in said moment, someone decides they want to text their bff and get their bright screen out for all the world to see, then it interrupts the viewing experience. When that phone/pda is within one or two rows of you, you might as well get out a book and read, since that's about the amount of light some of those things generate.

People's sense of self-importance when it comes to their phone use (including texting) never ceases to amaze me. Bottom line, unless you are someone whose life depends upon your being available to answer that phone/text, then you should just turn it off. Period. Or, go sit in the back row where you can't bother anyone with it.

Truth be told, we were a much more polite society before all of these technological advances came our way.